(Invited) SWCNT:C60 Solar Cells from Aqueous Separation Techniques

Abstract

In our work we develop new methods to scale-up aqueous separation techniques for the fabrication of inks and large area thin films of carbon nanotubes. This allows us to study the interaction of polymer-free single chirality and polychiral mixtures of nanotubes with acceptors such as C60 for energy applications such as solar cells. We are using transfer matrix calculations to theoretically calculate the optimal layer thicknesses within a nanotube solar cell and show that light absorption can be tailored to nanotube’s primary (S11) or secondary (S22) absorption peak, or a combination thereof. Upon using large diameter, (9,8), and mixtures of carbon nanotubes we then investigate the required net driving energy for SWCNT exciton dissociation onto C60 and establish a family of (n,m) species that can efficiently be utilized in polymer-free SWCNT:C60solar cells. Possible strategies to extend this diameter limit are discussed. [1] M. Pfohl, K. Glaser, A. Graf, A. Mertens, D. Tune, T. Puerckhauer, A. Alam, L. Wei, Y. Chen, J. Zaumseil, A. Colsmann, R. Krupke, B. S.Flavel, Probing the Diameter Limit of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes in SWCNT:Fullerene Solar Cells, Advanced Energy Materials, 6, 2016, 16008900 . DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201600890 [2] M. Pfohl, K. Glaser, J. Ludwig, D. D. Tune, S. Dehm, C. Kayser, A. Colsmann, R. Krupke, B. S. Flavel, Performance Enhancement of Polymer-Free Carbon Nanotube Solar Cells via Transfer Matrix Modeling, Advanced Energy Materials, 6 2016 1501345. DOI: 10.1002/aemn.201501345.